When Irish Eyes are Smiling
by Oriana
Summary: AU fic taking place in Northern Ireland in the late 1960's. Duo and Heero are on opposite sides of the Catholic/Protestant conflicts, and meet by chance at a rally. Years later, they meet again -- and Heero gives Duo a warning, just a little too late...
1. Prologue

The world was swimming in complete and utter chaos, with the political movements in America, the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the western nations, and the conflicts in Northern Ireland escalating at an incredible rate, all of them meshing into the web of confusion and hatred spreading across the globe....

The year...?

1966....

******* 

The crowd pushed against him, waving the signs proudly as banners of hatred -- proclaiming how their loving, peaceful god loved them best and was going to exterminate all others. Heero Yuy was jostled around through the sea of hot, sweaty bodies, the sights, sounds and smells assaulting him from all sides. He stared wide-eyed as a police officer stood on a platform in the middle of the mob and allowed it to continue. //Shouldn't he be doing something about this...this...mess?// "Hey, watch it!" He complained when he felt an elbow dig into his back.

A man glared down at Heero's skinny twelve year old body and raised an eyebrow. "If you're gonna be here, do something other that complain, why dontcha?" He growled before returning his attention to the chaos he was helping to create.

The boy gasped as he sensed himself being shoved closer and closer to the front linesof of the 'battle', the insistent shoving of the massive crowd moving him quickly towards the doldrums between the two groups. "Shit...." He looked down briefly at his feet, struggling to figure out how to escape from the group, then glanced back up into a pair or scared and startled violet blue eyes.

********

Duo stared at the boy in front of him, his eyes flicking down to Heero's chest where an empty cross hung from a long golden chain. His eyes widened in fear and he tried to back away, but his progress was impeded by the angry crowd behind him. Somehow, he had ended up in the front of the group, which he had never even meant to be a part of -- he had been caught up in the excitement of the others; allowed himself to be pulled along. He fingered his own crucifix anxiously, the calloused pads brushing against smooth, familiar wood and the cool metal of the crucifix.

A hand grabbed his shirt from behind and pulled angrily. Duo looked up into the face of Sister Helen, a frustrated expression on her face. 

"What have I told you, you little demon?!" She berated him, though the scowl seemed so out of place on her face that it soon softened into a gentle yet sad smile. "'Tis dangerous, these things... ye shouldn't be here, and ye know it."

Duo lowered his head in shame. "I know, an' I'm sorry...I just..."

She shook her head and placed a hand on the small of his back, leading him quietly but forcefully from the crowd. "I know, I know...you just got caught up in the crowd. However-- Duo, please don't let it happen again... you had me worried." Helen sighed and gazed back at the crowd as the police finally began attempting to break up the riot. //If only those bastards would just leave us the hell alone...//

********

Heero made his way, gasping, to the edge of the crowd and slid to a sitting position against the wall, his head resting against his knees. "N-never....never again..." He shook his head, clearing it. //That was all THEIR fault...someone needs to get organized about all this; decide what's going to happen and where... then we can actually DO something about the problem....//

*~*~*

And so the year of 1966 passed....


	2. Chapter One

Title: When Irish Eyes are Smiling

Part: 1/?

Author: Oriana

Rating:: PG-13/R

Notes: This fiction does not claim ot be completely historically acurate. 1x2. YAOI. AU.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Duo nibbled absentmindedly on a peice of stale bread as eh wandered through the marketplace. //Not much to be had today, is there?// He thought to himself, his eyes darting cautiously from one shopper to the next. He had his cross tucked inside his shirt, but it never hurt to be careful when in the other side of Dublin.

The youth paused momentarily at one particular cart, picking up an apple and tossing it lightly from one hand to the next before looking at it hungrily.

"'Ey, ya eat it, ya buy it, lad."

"Eh?" Duo glanced up at the disgruntled shopkeeper, then grinned and shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "I don' s'pose it could be 'ad for a trick?"

The man shook his head and snatched the apple from Duo's grasp, pluncking it emphatically down onto the wooden cart stall.

Duo sighed and scratched his head, beating a hasty retreat before the other man could get any nastier. //Damn...that usually works...// He cast his eyes to his scuffling feet as he remembered just why he was here. "Oiy, right....I've got 'ta get Sister 'Ellen some cloth..." He looked around the marketplace, where the various shopkeepers were beginning to close up. "Shite....it can' be THAT late!" 

//Oh, that's right....it's a Sunday...no surprise they're closin' up early....// "Oh, bejesus...now where 'm I gonna' get somethin' for 'er?" He ran towards the nearest vender , keeping his eyes on his feet so that he wouldn't trip.... and then ran straight into an unmoving body, from which came a soft grunt of pain as the person toppled over next to him. Duo groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead. "My apologies...." He looked up as the person stood and extended a hand.

"No 'arm done, assured." Heero helped the other boy up and assisted in dusting him off. "I should'a been watchin' where I was goin' better. Can I buy ya a drink?"

A nervous laugh escaped from Duo's throat as he took in the cross hanging from the other's neck. "Eh, well, er, I...m' fine, truly am." He licked his lips; his mouth had gone dry. //Is the crucifix showing? Oh sweet Jesus, please don't let it be showing...//

Heero placed a hand on Duo's shoulders and guided him through the marketplace and into a small square with a moderate amount of tables and chairs, not to mention a delicious aroma wafting out from a large stand. Duo's mouth watered at the smell of food, and he tried desperately not to drool.

"Well...er...mebe we *could* sit down an' eat...but jus' fer a minute...."

Heero smiled and pulled out a chair for the other boy, waving a hand in the air. "Oiy, Seamus...! Bring us some food!"

A man poked his head out of the stall, grumbling yet smiling back at the dark-haired boy. "Aye, aye, that I will, but ye needn't be so commandin' bout it, lad! Two Seamus Surprises, on th' house!"

Duo's eyes widened as the man went back inside, and spoke out of the side of the mouth. "What's th' surprise?" He whispered across the table.

Heero leaned his elbows on the hard surface, his eyes twinkling conspiritaroliy. "I've been eatin' here for five years, an' I STILL can' get 'im t' tell me! I havn't died yet, tho'...so it ain't that bad!"

The other boy chuckled softly and gazed across the table. "So, um, ya haven't even tol' me your name! 'M Duo Maxwell." He stuck out his hand, and Heero took it, eyes widening at his new aquantaince's name.

"I'm Heero Yuy... did ye jus' say Maxwell?"

Duo nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Yea, why'dya want t'know?" Unbeknownst to him, his crucifix slid out from his shirt and dangled conspicuously below his collar, the silver glinting in the fading daylight.

"Listen...." Heero leaned across the table, forcing his face close to Duo's, and lowered his voice untill the other had to strain his ears to hear it. His eyes caught the glint of the sunlight on the crucifix, and he nodded inwardly, his guess confirmed. "Don' go near Maxwell Church tonite...gotcha?" 

//Why am I telling him this?! He's a total stranger....but it feels like I've met him before...// He stood abruptly, knocking his chair over as he ran into a back alley, leaving Duo to stare after him with a mixture of apprehension and confusion.

"Wha..." Then, the reality of Heero's words hit him. "Sister 'Ellen! Father Maxwell...! The church!" //That BASTARD!// Duo jumped from his seat, racing in the direction of his section of Dublin, desperate to reach the church before Heero did. //He's got something planned... I know it... something's goin' t' happen to the church!// He gasped in pain as he felt his side beginning to cramp up. //I can't stop now... I have to... I have to...// The boy ran across a busy street, paying no heed to the angry drivers screeching to a halt just barely before hitting him.

The wind whipped at his long braid, causing strands of flowing brown hair to stream out behind him, and he reached up a hand impatiently to puch it back as he neared the turn that would return him to the church. 

He skidded to a stop. At first, everything was silent. Then, in the growing darkness, Duo heard a scream, and a bright orange finger eased it's way out of the ramshackle old church. //Sister!// He broke into a dead run as a timber creaked loudly and then collapsed. A hand grabbed his arm, stilling his passage, and he stared angrily up at the perpetrator.

Cobalt eyes met violet blue in a warring clash of pain and hatred.

"I thought I tol' ye not t' come here t'nite..."

//How could he....?!// Duo stared at the scene before him, bright flames leaping from the windows, small children screaming, and a loud clang which he knew must be the chapel's precious crucifix falling from it's precarious place on the altar. //How...why....// One trembling hand groped for his crucfix as he fell to his knees. "Sweet Jes'us...only ye can 'elp us now..."

Maxwell Church was burning....

~TBC~


	3. Chapter Two

A shrill scream pierced the night, rippling through the heavy black curtain of air that had folded across Duo's head. //The children.... they're still in the church...// He wrenched his arm from Heero's grasp, glaring at him in fury. "You're murderin' innocents!"

Heero shrugged and looked away. "Tis no more than what you and your kind do to ours." His eyes met the other boys, and Duo was shocked by the cold blue hatred burning there alongside the church. "Go. Try an' save your people while ye can....I wasn't able to, so someone else may as well 'ave a chance..."

Duo stared at him for a moment, puzzling over what the strange statement had meant, then turned and ran towards the inferno. //Sister Helen... Father Maxwell... the children...those bastards... how can anyone kill an innocent child, yet feel no remorse? It isn't Christian...it isn't HUMAN...// His feet pounded against the rough ground, his thin coat flapping in the wind as he reached the church. 

"Sister 'Ellen! Sister!" Duo flung open the doors, oblivious to the flames leaping towards him, singing the tips of his braid. He caught a small movement in his peripherary vision and moved towards it, blinking as smoke blew across his eyes. Gasping, he wiped the moisture from his eyes and shoved aside a pile of pile of collapsed wood to reveal a pair of small, scared eyes staring straight up at him.

"Duo!" A tiny figure launched itself at him, wrapping its arm's around the older boy's legs. "Sister 'Ellen...those guys..."

Duo reached down and lifted the boy into his arms. "'ey, tis all right. What 'appened?" He asked gently, ruffling the child's scruffy locks and glancing warily at the rapidly consuming flames. A particularly virulent one leapt out at them threateningly, and Duo set the boy down, pointing to the door. "Git out o' here, Sean... tisn't safe."

The boy started for the door, then stopped and turned back, confused. "But... what about ye, Duo?"

The teenager glared at the smaller boy and jabbed his finger at the small patch of daylight visible through the thickening smoke. "I thought I tol' ye t' git OUT!" He barked hoarsely, his voice rising to a shout on the last word.

Sean's eyes widened at the tone in Duo's voice; he'd never heard anything but kind words from the older boy. "Duo..."

"GO!"

The boy nodded once, and then ran for the door, disappearing into the night.

//Dear god, please let him get away...//

Duo averted his eyes. //Sorry, Sean, lad, but it was the only way t' get ye out...// he then turned and ran up a rickety flight of stairs, gasping for clean air as the smoke thickened around him. "Sister 'ellen! Sist--" A hacking cough shook his body. "Sister 'ellen!"

He whipped his head frantically from side to side, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of the woman. "Sister 'e-" Duo felt his face contort itself in a grimace as he inhaled a cloud of smoke. He could almost taste the heat searing though his throat, it was as if someone had boiled a large vat of water and was pouring it into his body.

//Heat rises...//

With that thought, he dropped to his knees and began to crawl through the narrow hallways of the living quarters, glancing in each room in turn as he searched for the Sister. //Not in the classroom... in the rectory downstairs, either... not in the sleeping quarters, either...where the hell is she?!// He took a deep breath, careful to keep his face downwards as he did so. "SISTER 'ELLEN!!!"

"Duo...?"

He spun around towards the voice, his eyes wide with relief, but his heart sank when he saw her lying at the end of the hallway, her skirts spread around her in a puddle of some sticky liquid. Duo rose to his feet and ran to her, not caring about the damage the heat and smoke were doing to his body.

Sister Helen looked up at the worried face above her, glaring fiercely at it. "What are ye doin' in here? Why, you--" She closed her eyes tightly as a wave of pain swept through her side.

Duo dipped his fingers in the liquid and rubbed them together. //Red... humans bleed red... humans...bleed.........// "No!" He choked back a sob and reached out, pulling her to him.

She smiled gently, once, at him, and squeezed his hand gently before gesturing weakly to a shard of glass from one of the windows lying nearby. "Hand me that..."

He thought it was a strange request, but he did it anyways, placing it in her hand.

She smiled once more at him and curled her fingers around the glass experimentally before she raised her hand, plunging the shard deep into her chest. As she fell back into his arms, her life seeping out of her, she gazed up at Duo's horrified face and smiled again. "It was the only way..."

Duo let go of her with numb arms and stood, backing away from her lifeless body. "No....no....no..." He whispered to himself, his feet carrying him around the corner, where he collapsed in a boneless heap. //She knew I would never leave her to die alone... so she...she...// Duo forced himself to stand, hot tears streaming down his face. "Sister 'ellen..." He walked towards the stairs in a daze, not noticing the burning flames that ate away at his clothing as he passed. 

His foot caught against a newly fallen timber and he fell, not even caring enough to get up. He stared blindly at the flickering shadows on the walls as his mind involuntarily called up memories...

***

An impatient little boy tugged at the long black skirt beside him, staring up, up, up, at the kind face above him. "Sister...sister...can't I see watcha wanna show me?"

The woman knelt down until she was almost his height and drew a small pouch from her pockets, from which she pulled a small, shiny object dangling from a dainty chain. She fastened the chain around the boy's neck and he squinted at it, giggling with happiness when he recognized the object.

"Tis a cruci.. a cru..."

She smiled gently. "Tis a crucifix, Duo."

"A crucifix! Oh, thank ye, sister!" The small boy threw his arms around the Sister's legs and hugged them tightly.

***

Small black spots danced in front of Duo's eyes, appearing and then vanishing before he could focus completely on them. "Sister 'ellen...why..." He didn't realize that his voice was unable to rise any higher than a hoarse whisper. He let out a silent scream as he felt a pair of strong arms circle his body and pull him upward. "No...no... just...jus' leave me 'ere..."

***

Heero stared at the burning church, unable to place why his chest felt so heavy. 

//Maybe I shouldn't have let him go in...//

//But he was so insistent... besides, what do I care?//

//I don't! Why would I care about some little catholic brat I barely even know?!//

//Yet I do... I don't understand this...//

He shook his head and watched the church intently, waiting for the braided teenager to come running out of the fire. A small figure bolted from the flames, and Heero snapped his gaze to it, but it was only a small boy who ran into one of the alleys when he saw the older boy.

//Where the hell is he...he should have gotten out by now...//

//He wasn't supposed to die...//

//He wasn't...//

//Supposed to...//

Heero lowered his head and stormed into the burning church. "Duo? Are ye still in 'ere?" //Now, where would he have gone?// He spied the stairs and headed to them, climbing them with ease.

"Duo?" He called again, unaware that he was repeating the other's actions and words, though the text was no exactly the same.

He almost missed the catholic teen when he stumbled over something large, warm, and unmoving. He cursed softly to himself, then looked down and saw Duo curled up at his feet, tear streaks running down his face. "Shite...'ey, can ye 'ear me?"

Duo moaned softly and shrunk into an even tighter ball.

"F*ck..." He bent down and scooped the smaller boy into his arms.

"No...no... just...jus' leave me 'ere..."

"There's no way in 'ell I'm leavin' ye 'ere to die!" He tightened his hold on the other boy as he struggled to get down. Heero found a pressure point and Duo collapsed into a dead weight in his arms. //Sorry... can't have you falling...//

*****************************

Zechs watched as Heero Yuy emerged from the burning church, a large bundle held in his arms, and his eyes narrowed. //I thought I taught him correctly...and I do believe that lesson number one was 'never feel sorry...' This is all in God's name...therefore, there is no guilt... Heero Yuy, when will you learn?//

~TBC~


End file.
